Graemontia
''Graemontia Staręga, 1992 is a genus of Triaenonychinae with 7 species, from South Africa. Authorship Lawrence (1931) Lawrence, R.F. (1931) The Harvest-Spiders (Opiliones) of South Africa. Annals of the South African Museum, Cape Town, 29(2), 341–508. originally included two species in Graemontia, but did not choose any of them as a type (nor did Kauri(1961)Kauri, H. (1961) Opiliones. Pp. 9–197. In South African Animal Life. Results of the Lund University Expedition in 1950–1951. (B. Hanström, P. Brinck & G. Rudebeck, eds.), Volume 8. Almquist & Wiksell, Uppsala). The generic name was then unavailable because failed to comply with ICZN 13.3 (see below). Staręga’s (1992)Staręga, W. (1992) An annotated check-list of harvestmen, excluding Phalangiidae, of the Afrotropical Region (Opiliones). Annals of the Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg, 33(2), 271–336. action of choosing one of them as the type first made Graemontia available because this complied with 13.1.2 and 13.3. Relevant provisions from ICZN article 13 are: To be available, every new genus-group name published after 1930 must (13.1.1) be accompanied by a description or definition OR (13.1.2) be accompanied by a bibliographic reference to such a published statement AND (13.3) be accompanied by the fixation of a type species in the original publication. As Staręga’s name is published before 2000, it does not have to meet the article (16.1): Every new name published after 1999 must be explicitly indicated as intentionally new. Mendes, A.C. & Kury, A.B. (2008) Intercontinental Triaenonychidae—the case of Ceratomontia (Opiliones, Insidiatores). The Journal of Arachnology 36:273–279.. Distribution The species of Laniatores in South Africa occur along the arch of thicket/forest/fynbos (corresponding to WWF ecoregions of Montane Shrubland, Mediterranean Forest and Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forest; http://worldwildlife.org/science/ecoregions/afrotropic.cfm) that extends clockwise from Limpopo Province and Mpumalanga through KwaZulu-Natal to the Eastern Cape and Western Cape (much of which is interspersed within savanna), excluding the grassland formations in Gauteng, North West Province and the Free State and the xeric formations of the Northern Cape. The species of Graemontia follow exactly this pattern, with marked allopatry, each species endemic to a separate area, without overlapping (Figure 1). Relationships The genus may be more related to Triaenobuninae than to other Triaenonychinae, although the former subfamily is not officially present in South Africa. Kury, A.B. (2006) A new species of Graemontia Lawrence, 1931, from the Western Cape, South Africa, with notes on the relationships of the genus (Opiliones: Laniatores: Triaenonychidae). African Zoology 41(1): 45–50. Some of the features the genus may share with Triaenobuninae: 1) the strong armature of the frontal border of the carapace, 2) the heavy ventral and dorsal spination of leg I, 3) the shape of the ventral plate and 4) the deeply cleft dorsal plate of the penis, divided in two valves. More studies regarding the male genitalia and the relationships within Triaenonychidae are needed to enlighten the subject. Type species Graemontia bifidens Lawrence, 1931 Species *''Graemontia bicornigera'' Lawrence 1963:295 *''Graemontia bifidens'' Lawrence 1931: 414 *''Graemontia decorata'' Lawrence 1938a:359 *''Graemontia dentichelis'' Lawrence 1931: 415 *''Graemontia erecta'' Kauri 1961: 102 *''Graemontia natalensis'' Lawrence 1937a: 141 *''Graemontia viridiceps'' Kury 2006a: 47 References Category:Genera Category:Afrotropical Category:Article stubs Category:Fauna of South Africa